Current Vacancies

Senior Legal Counsel/Legal Counsel, Corporate

About the team

The Department of Industry, Innovation and Science is dedicated to making Australian companies grow and prosper both locally and on the international stage in order to support a thriving economy for all Australians. Our vision is to enable growth and productivity for globally competitive industries. To help realise this vision, the department has four key objectives: supporting science and commercialisation, growing business investment and improving business capability, streamlining regulation and building a high performance organisation.

Senior Legal Counsel and Legal Counsel positions in the Legal, Audit and Assurance Branch engage in a variety of interesting and rewarding work. We provide best practice legal services to the department and customer agencies to meet the needs of our clients and in turn Australian businesses. We provide a supportive and collegiate working environment which is both challenging and enjoyable.

The programme areas that the department's legal team advises are diverse and include Offshore Resources Minerals and Energy, Anti-Dumping, Space Activities, AusIndustry, Venture Capital, Research and Development Tax Incentive, Radioactive Waste, Science programmes, Industry programmes, the Australian Square Kilometre Array project, Questacon and the Australian Building Codes Board Office.

Our ideal candidates

We are seeking to establish a merit pool of motivated, experienced and high performing legal practitioners to support the department’s vision to enable growth and productivity for globally competitive industries.

As part of the department’s legal team, you will contribute to, and facilitate, the delivery of a timely, accurate, and practical legal advice to a diverse and interesting range of program areas. Successful applicants will demonstrate exceptional communication, representational and negotiation skills with the ability to build and maintain relationships with their colleagues in the branch as well, internal clients and external stakeholders.

What you will do

The positions involve:

the provision of high quality, timely and practical legal services in relation to both the diverse range of programmes administered by the department and its corporate operations

working cooperatively and communicating effectively with other members of the department's legal team, internal clients, external legal providers and other stakeholders

Eligibility

Admission as a legal practitioner, however described, of the High Court or the Supreme Court of an Australian State or Territory and current practising certificate issued by the ACT Law Society, or eligibility to acquire.

To be eligible for employment in the APS and the department, applicants must be Australian Citizens.

Security Clearance

These positions require a Baseline security clearance. The successful applicants will be required to obtain and maintain a clearance at this level.

The recruitment process

This recruitment process being used to establish a merit pool to fill future ongoing and non-ongoing Senior Legal Counsel and Legal Counsel vacancies should they become available within 12 months from the date advertised. Non-ongoing opportunities may be offered for an initial period of up to 18 months with the possibility of extension (maximum 3 years).

The recruitment process is outlined below:

Applications are encouraged at any time until 15/04/2018.

Applications will be evaluated regularly over the application period.

If you have been assessed as suitable after interview you will be placed in a merit pool which will be used to fill current and future Senior Legal Officer/Legal Officer vacancies within the department. This may occur immediately or sometime in the future. You will be advised if you have progressed to this stage. However, this should not be seen as a guarantee of an offer of employment.

If you are assessed as not suitable, you will be notified.

Referee comments may be sought to confirm your suitability.

Your application will remain active in the merit pool until 15/01/2019.

You will be contacted regularly to ascertain your continued interest in being considered for a role.

We ask that you advise us if you are no longer available for a role.

Candidates will be engaged commensurate with their skills and experience.

Contact information

Learn more about the department

The department’s Enterprise Agreement and policies provide for a flexible working environment to assist staff balance their work and home life. Staff and managers work together to balance the operating needs of the work unit with the needs of the individual. Options may include part time working arrangements, working from home or other arrangements as agreed by all parties.

The department is committed to a workplace culture that builds respect, fosters inclusiveness, promotes diversity, embraces the unique skills and qualities of all our employees and is committed to attracting, recruiting and retaining people with disability.

Select the links on the left-hand side of the page for more useful information about a career with the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science.